A New Beginning
by Corinne Marie
Summary: "What about you? Is there a certain special someone in your life?" She didn't answer for a while. When she did, several moments later, she simply said, "No." Chapter 2 is up! Sirius is pardoned and Lily's a little late. Rated M for sexual referenceslater.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm back, baby! And I'm pretty excited about this story, too. Probably the best idea I've had in awhile. And it has depth, which is an extremely new concept to me ;) No I'm just kidding. But this story is not simply fluff. And don't get confused, all shall be explained...eventually.**

_How long has it been?_

Years.

_How many years?_

Enough.

_What should I do?_

Get your life back, of course.

* * *

With a shock he could breathe again. He couldn't tell how long he'd been gone, but it was long enough to have nearly forgotten the feeling of that simple act. He inhaled several times just to be sure that he could and it wasn't just another trick of the veil. There had been far too many of those.

Even worse than forgetting breath was forgetting how to open his eyes. But as soon as he'd done it the first time it was easy to blink the sleep from his eyes. That's what it felt like, all those years behind the veil. Like the most prolonged nap the world had ever seen.

He was glad he had awoken on his feet, because he wasn't sure he could have forced himself to stand. His first step after the veil was really shaky, but the movement was excellent. He hadn't moved in years and his muscles were a bit stiff, but he was moving. He lifted his arm just to be sure he could and felt a smile spread across his face.

He took a moment to look around, and he recognized where he was immediately. There was no mistaking the Forbidden Forest. If he remembered correctly, this was the clearing that they'd all seen Harry in before he had gone off to die at the hands of Voldemort. He hadn't died, though. At least, Sirius was fairly certain he hadn't.

He stretched, thinking about what to do next. He had no idea where to go, especially considering he couldn't be completely sure where he was. And then suddenly, he heard a female voice say, "Who are you? And what are you doing here?"

He looked in the direction of the voice and saw a woman, probably in her 20's, with red hair and thin black rimmed glasses brandishing a wand at him. She looked an awful lot like…

"Lily?" he asked, confused. Was he sent back in time? Or, to a different universe or something?

She looked shocked, and a little scared. "How do you know my name? Who are you?"

"I'm…Sirius Black."

"Sirius…Black? No way, that's not possible. Sirius Black would be 73 years old by now."

Okay, not the Lily he knew then. "How do you know who I am?"

"Sirius Black was my father's godfather. He died when…"

"You're Harry's daughter?" He exclaimed. She rolled her eyes.

"We aren't talking about me. I'm _supposed_ to be here. Now tell me who you are. And don't lie to me."

"I really am Sirius Black."

"Prove it." She hadn't lowered her wand.

"Okay…what would you like to know?"

"Tell me about the map," she said, obviously thinking she'd asked something impossible.

"Oh, the Marauder's Map? Okay, I, with the help of James Potter—your grandfather—Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew—also known as Prongs, Moony and Wormtail—made the Marauder's Map. It shows all of Hogwarts, along with the locations of everyone inside. Want to know more?"

She was faltering. "Tell me about Remus Lupin."

"A werewolf, who spent nights of the full moon in the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade while we were in school. He entered through the Whomping Willow, which can be made to stop moving by pressing a secret knot at the base. Wormtail was the only one small enough to press it without injury."

She nodded, finally seeming to accept who he was. "How?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

"Really, how?" she repeated, seeming to ignore what he'd said. "Dad has a picture of you. You haven't aged at all."

He shrugged again. "Apparently you don't age when you're dead."

"But…" She couldn't seem to wrap her mind around it. "If you're dead, how are you here?"

"Well, obviously, I'm not dead anymore."

She rolled her eyes again, as if she was getting fed up with him. "I can see that. But it has been proven time and again that no amount of magic can bring anyone back from the dead."

"I don't know, alright? I really have no idea how this happened. I wish I could explain it, but I can't. And would you please put your wand away? It's making me very uncomfortable," he said.

She eyed him warily. "You first."

He followed her gaze to his hand and noticed that he did, in fact, seem to be carrying his wand. He wondered how that happened. "Oh," he said, "Sorry. I didn't realize…" He put the wand in his back pocket, and she pushed hers up into her sleeve.

"Well," she said, and then she stopped. After a moment or two of silence, she spoke again. "I think you should go and see my father," she said.

He followed her. She seemed to know this forest well, and it didn't take long to find their way out. He heard someone emerge at the same time as they did, and he turned to see a boy that look very much like Harry, but too young and without glasses.

"Albus! Where's Dad?" Lily called to him.

He shrugged. "I don't know. We all split up, remember?" he said, as if it was obvious.

"When will I see him next?" she asked in a teasing voice.

He rolled his eyes. "You know, that stopped being funny when I was 12."

"And yet you laughed until you're 15th birthday."

He rolled his eyes, and then turned to Sirius. "Ah. That's why. Well, see you later." He said the last part to Lily.

She sighed. "I hate when he does that. Sometimes I think he's just trying to mess with me."

And then someone else emerged from the forest, dusting off his robes. His hair was graying, and he seemed to have gotten a little taller since Sirius had last seen him, but the lightning bolt scar and Lily's green eyes gave him away. And if that hadn't, Lily would have.

"Dad!" she called, waving a hand in the air.

Harry looked up and caught Sirius's eyes. Many things passed between them in the second before either of them spoke. Recognition, sadness, curiosity… Lily watched the whole scene.

"Sirius," Harry said finally. "How in the hell did this happen?"

"Honestly," Sirius said, "I don't know."

* * *

They sat in Grimmauld Place about half an hour later, drinking tea. There were five people gathered around the table: Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione and, of course, Sirius. Lily had gone back to work, along with Albus.

"So," Ginny asked when they'd all sat down, "How did you…get back?"

He shrugged. "I really don't know," he said. "The last thing I remember was talking to Harry in that clearing. That was…35 years ago, I think. If I've done the math right."

"And how is it," Ron asked, smirking, "That you've stayed so young?"

Sirius grinned. "I guess you don't age when you're dead."

"So…you really were dead, then?" Hermione asked, looking concerned.

He nodded.

Hermione shook her head. "That's not possible. No one can come back from the dead, you just can't."

"Well, then, just close your eyes and pretend I'm not here," Sirius said, leaning back in his chair.

"That's— It's— No, that's not what I meant," she stuttered.

"We know it's not," Ron said, taking her hand. They all fell silent again.

"Why are we wondering about this? I mean, it doesn't change anything, does it? Knowing or not, Sirius still has to figure out what to do now," Ginny said wisely.

"Well, he's going to stay with us, of course. I mean, it is his house," Harry said.

"But what is he going to do with his life? I mean, he needs a job and all, right? And how are we going to explain that Sirius Black is alive again? Or, for that matter, how are we going to explain that he shouldn't be in Azkaban?" Ron asked.

"I figured you would have gotten that mess cleared up by now," Sirius said, resting his arms on the table in front of him.

"We weren't exactly expecting you back from the grave," Hermione said quietly.

Sirius laughed. "Fair enough."

"Anyway, Harry's pretty much the savior of the world, so I'm pretty sure the Ministry will believe whatever he tells them," Ginny said with a shrug.

Harry nodded. "So, for now, you can stay here and we'll figure out the rest as it comes up."

* * *

By the time Lily got home, most of the rest of her family were already there, along with Sirius. She acknowledged him with a nod before sitting next to Albus and starting a conversation. Sirius watched her. Looking at her now, he noticed that she looked more like her mother, Ginny than her grandmother, although she had a strong resemblance to both. He could distinctly see the Lily he knew in her features when she laughed, but she had Ginny's eyes.

She noticed him staring, and she looked at him and raised her eyebrows. And then she almost immediately turned back to her conversation with her brother.

"So," James said, sitting next to Sirius, "I guess you'll be staying here for a while, right?"

Sirius nodded. "I guess so. I really don't know what else I could do now."

"Lucky Lily found you, otherwise we may not have even found out for weeks."

"Oh, come on, James, he's not stupid," Lily said from across the table, "He would have thought to come here."

Sirius looked up at her again, seeing her resemblance to Lily even more now. She had the same sarcastic attitude, and the same grin.

"Well, you never know," Sirius replied, "If I'd really had time to think about it, I might have assumed you would have sold this place."

Harry nodded. "It's full of some not so happy memories for you, isn't it?"

"This wasn't exactly the happy home you were looking for when you were 15, either," Sirius said.

"Anyway," Albus's wife, Melinda, said, anticipating the silence that was sure to follow that statement, "It wasn't really luck. Al saw you coming."

Sirius looked confused again. "Oh, yeah, Albus sees the future sometimes. It's pretty cool," James said.

"And extremely unfortunate for me," Albus said, looking bored.

"We tease him," Lily said before Sirius could ask. "We used to, anyway," She continued, after her father had rolled his eyes and snorted loudly. "We're adults now and we don't do childish things like that anymore."

"You know, Lily, no one believes you when you say that," Ginny said, entering the dining room.

Lily smiled hugely at her mother, but didn't say anything in reply. She seemed to be too interested in watching the food her mother was levitating onto the table.

"Lily, we have guests. Mind your manners," Harry said.

Lily rolled her eyes, leaning heavily on her elbows on the table. "I know, Dad, I'm not five years old."

Ginny laughed. "So you keep telling us."

Lily stuck her tongue out at her mother. "I'm very mature," she said, her voice full of fake indignation. "I'm allowed one act of immaturity a day given the fact that I'm the youngest sibling, and I don't exceed that. Mostly." A mischievous smile was still planted on her face.

James snorted.

"So, James, where's Katie?" Lily asked with a smirk.

"_Katherine_ is having dinner with her mother tonight," James said, looking annoyed at his sister. "And as we are not _involved _in any way, she's not obliged to come to family dinners with me."

"Generally, people don't bring people that they work with home for dinner for no reason," Al said.

"We're friends, Al," James said through gritted teeth.

"Which is exactly what you told us when you brought Melinda home for the first time, Albus," Lily said.

"The difference is that we were just friends back then," Melinda said, taking her husband's hand.

Ginny was smiling and shaking her head and Harry was rolling his eyes as their children continued to pick on each other, and each time the target for teasing changed, they got louder. Sirius couldn't help thinking that it was nice, though, almost like being with the rest of the Marauders again. It felt like home.

* * *

Lily walked quickly up the stairs. Sirius could barely keep up. And then he didn't want to. Something had caught his eye in a room he remembered well. He stopped and slowly entered the room that had once held the tapestry of his own family tree. He would have assumed that the tapestry would be gone altogether, however it seemed to have simply changed a great deal. It was still a family tree, but now it contained pictures of the Weasley and Potter families. Harry and Ginny's branches, which were intertwined, led back to the branches of their parents, which trailed off past the bottom of the tapestry.

He examined it for several minutes, reading the names of each of the Weasley boys and their children, trying to remember names and faces for when the time arrived that he met them all. He was so distracted that he didn't notice that someone had followed him into this room.

"You're on it, too," Lily said from beside him.

He turned to look at her and then looked back up at the tapestry. "Where?" He asked.

She pointed to his picture, just next to the picture of James. There was a halo of light around his head. "Dad always said you were part of the family. Even before he was born. So, you had to be on the family tree. Even though you were dead."

He laughed. "Well, James was always the closest thing I had to a brother. Closer than my real brother, actually."

Lily smiled. "Sounds like me and Rose. See, look, right there," she said, pointing to a Ron and Hermione's daughter. "She's older than me, of course. Mum always tells me that my friendship with Rose reminds her of how she was with Aunt Hermione."

Sirius nodded. "Yeah, they were pretty close. The boys weren't always there for Hermione."

Lily shrugged and, with a laugh, said, "Well, a girl needs another girl to talk to sometimes."

They stood in silence for a moment. Lily seemed to be remembering something, with a small smile spreading across her face.

"Anyway," she said, "I think I'll be going up to bed now. 'Night, Sirius." With a wave, she'd disappeared through the door. Sirius stood for a few more moments, staring at the tapestry. "Oh, I almost forgot," Lily said, peeking around the door. He turned to look at her again. "Dad says you'll be in your old room. By the way, I don't know what kind of sticking charms you used, but we haven't been able to take anything down, even to this day." She grinned again. "Pity. I always wanted that room." And then she was gone again, racing back up the stairs.

Sirius shook his head, a smile on his face. She was more like Lily Evans than he'd thought.

**A/N: Well, there's chapter one. I'm hoping to update this every week or so, because I have a fairly good idea about how it's going to go. However, as I now have a basically full time writing job, it may take me a little longer than I would hope.**

**I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my sister and my mom, but mostly my sister, who have recently watched all of the available Harry Potter movies. If you're reading this right now, silentromantic, haha, I got you into Harry Potter! Now if I could just get you to read the books...**

**Also, a special thanks, as always to my fantastic beta reader, also known as my aunt. Apparently I didn't make any mistakes in this story because she didn't catch them. Still, everyone misses things sometimes. **

**On a final note, and mostly because of legal reasons (because we all know I would LOVE to be JKR), here is my disclaimer. I'm disclaiming everything Harry Potter related. For now, that's all I have to say.**

**And now, my wonderful fans, I must sleep, because it's 3 AM here. I just absolutely HAD to finish this chapter tonight. Er...this morning. :D Goodnight all!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Okay, so first off…yeah, I have to say that I forgot that Sirius looked younger in the forest just before Harry 'died'. So I'm still trying to figure out a plausible answer to your question, hushpuppy22. Also, I'm hoping this chapter will answer some of your other questions. **

Sirius woke up late the next morning, as, apparently, had Lily. The first thing he heard on waking up was someone running past his door.

"YOU ARE LATE!" a shill, female voice was yelling.

"I KNOW!" Lily yelled back. "Shut it, you lousy excuse for a watch!"

"Don't get snippy with me, young lady! It's not my fault you decided to stay up all night."

"Did anyone ask for your opinion? No I didn't think so. So why don't you just…" he didn't hear the rest of her sentence as she'd gotten too far from his door.

Sirius chuckled lightly and rolled over in his bed. He'd missed real sleep. However, no matter how much he tried to get comfortable again, he couldn't go back to sleep. So instead, he sat up and looked around, which he hadn't bothered to do the night before.

His room was almost exactly as he'd remembered it, despite the obvious wear of age, and possibly the fingernails of a little girl, judging by the strips torn out of the Muggle posters. He was impressed by her stubbornness. She'd obviously wanted this room pretty badly.

He stood and stretched. Waking up stretching was much nicer than back-from-the-dead stretching. The thought occurred to him that he probably shouldn't say that out loud. It did sound creepy, after all.

He dressed slowly and meandered down the stairs, expecting Lily to have left already. He was wrong about that. Just as he reached the bottom of the stairs, she ran past him, still yelling at her watch, only by then she seemed to be speaking French, and the watch was shouting, "LATE! LATE! LATE!" over her voice.

Sirius shook his head and walked into the kitchen. Ginny was leaning against the counter, reading the _Daily Prophet_.

"Why are you reading that garbage?" he asked.

Ginny laughed. "Well, it's not so bad anymore. Rita Skeeter retired, thank Merlin. And Lily's been keeping the _Prophet _honest for the past few years, so…"

"Lily works for the _Daily Prophet_?" he asked.

Ginny shook her head. "Not exclusively. She writes for almost all of the newspapers and magazines occasionally. Anytime they have something no one else will do, she'll do it. If they pay well enough."

"Ah. Is that why she's…?" he said, motioning out the door to indicate what she was doing right then.

Ginny shrugged. "It could be part of the reason. That, and, apparently writers don't keep very normal hours."

"Well, I hope the watch is very understanding. Those weren't exactly nice words she was using."

Ginny laughed. "If it's any consolation, I don't think the watch speaks French."

Sirius grinned. "So, where's Harry, anyway?"

Ginny's eyes had returned to the newspaper. "He went to work already. He had to go early to talk to the Minister."

Sirius nodded. "I see. I would have thought he could be the Minister of Magic by now."

"He could be," Ginny said, flipping a page in the newspaper.

"And he isn't because…?"

"Because he doesn't really want to be."

Sirius nodded again. "Right. Ginny, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," she said, finally looking up from the newspaper.

"Well, yesterday, it just seemed like Harry wasn't happy to see me."

"That's not a question," Ginny said wisely.

"I was just wondering…why was that?"

Ginny shrugged. "He just handles surprises differently than most people, I suppose." She was hiding something, he could tell.

"Oh," he said simply, deciding not to mention it. "So, what can a person do for a living around here?"

Ginny laughed and set down the newspaper. "Maybe you should wait to worry about that. One thing at a time, you know?"

"Still, I should at least start thinking about it now, right?"

"Sure, if that's what you want to do," Ginny said.

"I was thinking maybe I could—"

Suddenly Lily's voice cut into whatever Sirius was about to say. "MUM!" she yelled. She ran into the kitchen, her left hand covering the watch on her right wrist and muffling its words. "Mum, have you seen my bag anywhere?" she asked, almost whining.

"The last time I saw it it was on the back of the couch—"

"Thanks," she said, and ran off again.

Sirius looked at Ginny again. "Well, she's obviously very busy."

"Well, I wouldn't say that. She's just very Lily."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning she's pretty much always late. Which is why I got her that watch when she was 13."

"And it's been driving your family crazy ever since?" he guessed.

Ginny laughed. "Yes, something like that."

"Found it!" Lily yelled from the living room. "I'll see you later! Bye!" They heard the door open and close quickly, indicating that she was gone.

Ginny sighed. "Look, Sirius, I'm sorry to do this to you, but I have to run some errands today, and Harry thought it might be better if you stayed in the house for now, since people won't react very well and most people don't know the story and all. I know you hate being stuck in one place but…"

Sirius shook his head. "I completely understand. It would just be for today, right?"

Ginny nodded. "So, I'll see you later then," she said as she left the kitchen.

He nodded. "See you later."

* * *

Sirius was in his room, taking down the decorations when he heard the door open and close downstairs. Feeling sure it was Harry, he quickly walked down the stairs and into the living room, where he saw not Harry, but Lily. She was sitting on a couch writing something on a piece of parchment, frequently looking at something else sitting next to her that he couldn't see very well. Her hair was falling out of the careful ponytail she'd had it in that morning and she seemed to be angry at something.

She looked up as he entered the room and waved at him, and then returned to whatever she was writing. He walked to the couch and sat down next to her, trying to see what it was, but she pulled the paper away from him before he could.

"Oh, so you're the secretive sort, hm?" he asked, grinning.

She didn't look like she was in the mood for a joke. "Is there something you want?"

"Well, as long as you're asking, lunch would be nice. Maybe some wine and conversation," he hadn't stopped grinning yet. When she didn't smile in return, he said, "What? That was funny."

She shook her head. "At any other time, maybe," she said.

"Alright, and why not now?"

"Because," she said, trying to sound patient and looking at whatever was sitting next to her, "I'm very busy right now, I've got a lot of work to do. And I'd really appreciate it if you could—"

Suddenly someone opened and closed the door again. "Lily?" a female voice called. "Lils, where are you?"

"In here," she called, returning to what she was writing. "But I'm a little busy right now, Rosie."

Rose entered the room then. She was very pretty, but almost opposite in looks from Lily, aside from their shared red hair and pale skin. Rose, unlike Lily, was tall with long fingers and a tiny waist. Rose's eyes were blue and round, unlike Lily's almond shaped brown ones. Rose was also wearing what appeared to be an engagement ring, although he couldn't be sure. Perhaps she, like Lily, wore a ring just because she liked it.

"You can take a break," Rose said stubbornly. "I really need to talk to you."

"About what?" Lily whined, upset about losing her focus.

"Wedding details, what else?"

Lily sighed, and pushed her papers to the side. "Don't you ever miss the good old days? The ones where we had conversations that didn't involve white dresses or flowers or other such nonsense?"

"Well, you're in luck, because this conversation doesn't involve any of those things." She seemed to notice Sirius for the first time as she walked farther into the living room. "Oh. Hello," she said politely.

"Rose, this is Sirius Black. Sirius, this is my cousin Rose," Lily said. "She's getting married in a few weeks, I promise you she's not always this crazy."

"Six weeks, to be exact," Rose cut in. "Well, to be really exact, 38 days, 4 hours and 32 minutes," she continued as she sat down on the other side of Lily on one of the chairs.

"But who's counting, really?" Lily said sarcastically.

"Lily, please don't do that now. You know this has to be perfect. I've be—"

"Been planning since you were five, I know. Really, though, in 23 years, you haven't been able to plan one whole wedding?"

Rose gave her another warning look. "Anyway, I'm here to ask you about the bridesmaid's dresses."

"Why are you asking me? It's your wedding."

"You'll be wearing the dress, I think it's only fair that you decide."

"And you also can't figure out which one you like best, right?" Lily asked.

Rose smiled. "I hate that you know me so well."

Lily shook her head, hiding her smile. "Alright, fine, I'll go dress shopping with you. Tomorrow. If," she said, pausing dramatically, and the hopeful look on Rose's face fell just slightly. "If you go looking for a flat with me before. I'm meeting with a few people tomorrow, so it should work out well."

Rose didn't hesitate. "Of course! Thank you, I love you, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Lily said. Rose kissed the top of her head quickly, even though she tried to pull away before she could.

"Bye, Sirius," she called as she left, "It was nice meeting you."

"You, too, Rose," he replied.

Next to him, Lily sighed. He turned and saw that she'd returned to her work.

"So," he said, and Lily let out another heavy sigh at his interruption. He ignored it. "You're looking for a new place to live now?"

She looked up at him, clearly annoyed. "Yes, Sirius. I've been looking for a new place to live for months now."

"Why?"

"Because, Sirius, I'm 26 years old. I shouldn't be in my parents' house anymore."

"So before now, you just haven't been able to find one you like?"

She seemed to be trying really hard to focus on what she was writing, and his questions were clearly bothering her. "Yes. That and… Merlin, I can't believe I'm having this conversation."

"And…?" Sirius said, trying to get her to finish her sentence.

She scoffed. "And no one wants to let me rent a flat because I don't have a steady job, and therefore I don't have a steady income."

Sirius nodded. "That…actually doesn't make any sense."

Lily nodded. "I know," she said. "It's so stupid, and it's not like I couldn't borrow a little bit of money if I absolutely had to…" her voice trailed off and she went back to writing.

Sirius was silent for a minute. "Out of curiosity, who is Rose getting married to?"

Lily didn't look up right away, and for a moment he thought she hadn't heard him. Finally, she said, "Scorpius Malfoy."

"Well, that's shocking."

Lily nodded. "Yeah, it is. A Malfoy and a Weasley. You should have seen Uncle Ron's face when she told him they were engaged. No one had expected it to last that long."

"Except you?"

Lily laughed, finally. "Well, I only saw it coming because Rose gets a bit…obsessive sometimes."

It was Sirius's turn to laugh. "Oh, I see. How long have they been together, then?"

Lily shrugged. "They were a couple while we were in school, but they went their separate ways after graduation. They started dating again three years ago, I think, and they got engaged in March. I helped Scorpius pick out the ring." She said the last part with a touch of pride in her voice. She hadn't looked up from her writing.

"And what about you, then?" he asked. "Is there a certain special someone in your life?"

Lily didn't answer for a while. When she did answer, several long moments later, she simply said, "No" and continued to write.

He thought about continuing the conversation, but decided against it. It didn't exactly seem like something she wanted to talk about.

They heard someone else come in, and seconds later Harry was standing in the doorway.

"Hi, Lils. Hi Sirius," he said, a small, secretive smile on his face.

"Good news?" Sirius asked, his eyebrows raised, fairly certain he already knew the answer.

Harry's small smile grew into a grin. "The best."

**A/N: Phew. This took WAY longer than I had originally expected. So first I would like to say I'm sorry to all of you who were waiting especially my sister, silent romantic (whose name does, in fact, have a space in it). Please don't kill me in my sleep.**

**This chapter is dedicated to my bestest best friend Jen, a.k.a. I Might Be Slytherin, for being awesome and very much like Sirius, and therefore a template for me. Also, for saying the phrase "Dude, Voldemort's JACKED!" while we were watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. **

**It's also dedicated to my amazing boyfriend, who will someday read the Harry Potter books (trust me) for making me feel pretty. **

**And finally, another thanks to my aunt and beta reader, to whom I must apologize for the typos, I was tired when I wrote this.**


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